Berkshire Hathaway Vice Chairman Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man, wishes crypto would be banned immediately. He says the government made “a huge mistake” to allow cryptocurrencies, like bitcoin. “It’s like a venereal disease,” he opined.
Charlie Munger Says “It Was A Huge Mistake” To Allow Crypto At All
Charlie Munger, Warren Buffett’s right-hand man and longtime business partner, spoke about bitcoin and cryptocurrency on Wednesday in an interview with Yahoo Finance ahead of the annual shareholder meeting at The Daily Journal, where he is chairman.
Munger previously called bitcoin “rat poison” and said last year that he hated the success of the cryptocurrency. He was asked if he is surprised that bitcoin has gotten even more mainstream since then.
Berkshire Hathaway’s vice president replied, “If you stop to think about it, it’s an ideal currency if you want to commit extortion, kidnapping, or have a protection racket or something like that.”
He added: “Why should a civilized government want an ideal untraceable technology to come into the payment system run by a bunch of people who want to get rich quick for doing very little for civilization. Of course, I hate it.” Munger elaborated:
I don’t think it’s good that our country is going crazy for bitcoin and the like. I think the Communist Chinese were wiser than us. They just banned it.
He was also asked if he had any predictions on what’s going to happen with crypto in the U.S.
“No,” he answered. “You let an evil genie out of a bottle, God knows what’s going on.” The Berkshire executive said:
It was a huge mistake to allow it at all.
Munger then commented on crypto regulations. “The truth is that our regulatory establishment when they leave the government, they get into this heavily promotional capitalism and so it’s very difficult to get the government to make good, wise decisions on something like bitcoin.”
At the Daily Journal meeting, Munger reiterated: “I wish it [crypto] had been banned immediately, and I admire the Chinese for banning it.” He continued:
I certainly haven’t invested in crypto. I’m proud of the fact that I avoided it. It’s like a venereal disease or something. I just regard him as under contempt.
Munger’s statements echo his previous comments about bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies. He said in December last year: “I’m never going to buy a cryptocurrency. I wish they’d never been invented.”
He also advised other investors never to buy BTC. In May, he said, “All this fucking development is disgusting and against the interests of civilization.”
